Senate Passes Two-Year Lobbying Ban for Former Officials, With Fines Up to $100,000

The Puerto Rico Senate approved, on Thursday, September 24, 2026, Senate Bill 1190, the first piece of legislation in more than a decade that seeks to strictly regulate lobbying on the island, barring former public officials from lobbying for two years after leaving office and setting fines of up to $100,000 for violations ¹². The measure, filed on April 9, 2026 by New Progressive Senator Juan Oscar Morales, passed by voice vote with majority support in the upper chamber. Only Senator Roxana Soto Aguilu, also from the majority delegation, voted against it, and Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz was absent during the vote ¹. The bill now moves to the House of Representatives, where a companion measure already exists.

Puerto Rico currently has no comprehensive law regulating lobbying. The only rule in place is a 2019 executive order signed by then-Governor Ricardo Rossello, plus several previous legislative attempts — including efforts by former legislators Jose Enrique Melendez and Carmelo Rios — that never became law ². The bill's urgency did not appear out of nowhere: in May, public hearings exposed the ties between a former administration's chief of staff, Francisco Domenech, and the lobbying firm Politank, and in recent months questions have surfaced about lobbyist activity around the $5.9 billion temporary power-generation contract ¹. Adding to the pressure, the Financial Oversight and Management Board weighed in: its executive director, Robert Mujica, publicly identified the lack of a comprehensive lobbying statute, the use of contingent fees, and contract extensions as three areas the Legislature must address immediately ³.

By the numbers: PS 1190 originally proposed a four-year cooling-off period for former officials and extended the restriction to their spouses; the amended version voted on September 24 cut that period to two years following recommendations from the Senate Government Committee ¹². The law defines a "former official" as anyone who held an elected position, led an agency, served in a cabinet, was a mayor, legislator, office director, or senior adviser, or substantially participated in policymaking with access to confidential information ². The lobbyist registry will remain under the Department of Justice ¹². In the House, Bill 405, sponsored by Speaker Johnny Mendez, proposes a shorter one-year ban and an annual registration fee of $250 ². Meanwhile, Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez Colon's own administration bill, PC 13, which also creates a lobbyist registration system, has been waiting roughly 18 months for legislative action, according to La Fortaleza's Secretary of Public Affairs, Jean Pena Payano, who publicly asked: "Why hasn't it moved?" ².

What It Means for You

If you work with, contract, or track government agency or legislative decisions, this bill — if it becomes law — changes the rules on who can lobby on behalf of private interests, and under what conditions. For the average citizen, the promise is more transparency about who influences multimillion-dollar contracts like the power-generation deal, and less chance that an official can leave office on a Friday and start lobbying for the same industry the following Monday. For small and mid-size businesses that today rely on informal fixers to navigate agencies, a mandatory registry with fixed fees could level the playing field, though it also adds another bureaucratic step. And for legislators and their former staff, the measure is a concrete warning: $100,000 fines and possible criminal liability for intentional, repeated violations are no longer hypothetical ².

How to Do It / Checklist

1. If you are or were a public official who falls under the "former official" definition in PS 1190, consult the Office of Government Ethics before accepting any lobbying contract, even before the bill becomes law ².
2. If your organization hires lobbyists, verify their registration with the Department of Justice once the system is operational, and confirm they are not within the two-year cooling-off period ¹².
3. Track PS 1190's progress through the Legislature's Sistema Unico de Tramite Legislativo (SUTRA) to see when the House takes it up and whether it gets reconciled with House Bill 405 ⁴.
4. If you are following the $5.9 billion temporary power-generation contract or other large contracts, request existing lobbying disclosure records from the Department of Justice while the registry is being strengthened ¹.
5. Report to the Office of Government Ethics or the press any lobbying activity that appears to violate the two-year ban once the law takes effect.

What's Next

The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it must be reconciled with Speaker Johnny Mendez's PC 405 before reaching Governor Gonzalez Colon's desk ¹³. The Fiscal Oversight Board, which has tied part of its fiscal assessment to transparency reforms, is expected to keep pressing both chambers to act before the session ends ³. It also remains to be seen whether the House advances the administration's own PC 13, stalled for a year and a half, or folds its provisions into the new PS 1190 framework ².

Sources

1. El Vocero — "Senado aprueba medida para regular el cabildeo en Puerto Rico" — https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/legislatura/senado-aprueba-medida-para-regular-el-cabildeo-en-puerto-rico/article_7dcfe70e-99c1-4aca-8c57-cd52de4f8591.html
2. NotiCel — "La Fortaleza reclama a la Legislatura que atienda proyectos sobre registro de cabilderos" — https://noticel.com/en/noticias/20260924/la-fortaleza-reclama-a-la-legislatura-que-atienda-proyectos-sobre-registro-de-cabilderos/
3. Metro Puerto Rico — "Senado atiende proyectos para regular el cabildeo en Puerto Rico" — https://www.metro.pr/noticias/2026/09/24/senado-atiende-proyectos-para-regular-el-cabildeo-en-puerto-rico/
4. Senado de Puerto Rico — "Senador Juan Oscar Morales radica medida para regular de forma estricta el cabildeo en Puerto Rico" — https://senado.pr.gov/senador-juan-oscar-morales-radica-medida-para-regular-de-forma-estricta-el-cabildeo-en-puerto-rico